Chapter 112

“Hiss...”

“Seriously…”

“Don’t be so nice to me… I’m really not used to it!”

Sheffy, who had been a left-behind child in her previous life, was the most defenseless when it came to things like this.

Her father, mother, and Belith were all watching her expectantly, waiting for an answer.

That made Sheffy feel a little embarrassed...

She folded her wings around herself to block their gazes, then shrank her head slightly and glanced away.

Then, in an extremely fast voice, she softly gave her response.

“An… anyway, I’m a lot… a lot happier here than in the Demon Domain.”

“Is that so.” Herilet covered the corner of her mouth with a half-smile. “In that case, we’re relieved.”

To those who didn’t understand Sheffy, her words just now might’ve seemed cold.

But everyone present was family. They all knew that slight stubborn pride buried in Sheffy’s heart very well.

What she had just said—if translated into normal sentence order—was probably something more like this:

—She was happy here in the Human side, but back in the Demon Domain… having them around had been joyful too.

With that in mind, how could they not feel reassured?

Herilet and Belith exchanged a smile, both clearly very satisfied with that answer.

Or rather, it was exactly what Herilet had expected~

“I just knew Sheffy wouldn’t have a hard time staying with the humans. After all, didn’t you used to say some humans were pretty interesting when you were little?”

“Eh? Did I really say something like that?”

“You don’t remember? Well, you were still very young back then. You flew by yourself to the border between the Demon Domain and the Human side, saw some mountain bandits robbing someone, and saved a human girl. When you came back, didn’t you say she seemed like a human princess? You even said she was interesting, that her eyes sparkled, and that she’d definitely achieve something big in the future. Oh right, during your time with the humans, did you ever run into that human princess again?”

“There was something like that…? Let me think… huh? Now that you mention it, Mother, maybe I really did! The one I saved really was a royal, and I remember her face… those eyes… uh…”

Sheffy suddenly froze.

“Sheffy?”

“No… nothing. I just suddenly remembered a few details. Really makes you think… the world’s so small, and fate sure loves to toy with people, huh?”

“This child, suddenly getting sentimental again… sigh… our family really is full of weirdos.”

Don’t put down our own family like that, Mother!

Of course I’m feeling sentimental for a reason!

Since she was feeling sentimental, it meant that certain coincidences in fate were indeed worth sighing over!

28. During the Match

On their return to the arena, the group split into two routes. Sheffy transformed back into Shaya’s form and retreated ahead of the others.

The Demon King and his entourage proceeded according to the original plan, arriving at the arena’s “temporary” VIP platform after a short delay.

Why call it “temporary”?

Because aside from the two existing high platforms where King Celt Aurus and the Pope faced each other from a distance, the arena had never had a third elevated stage.

Let alone one prepared in advance for the Demon King and his people, who had arrived so suddenly—such preparation would’ve been sheer fantasy.

Originally, once the Demon King arrived and had nowhere to sit, it was bound to turn into an awkward farce. The humans probably wouldn’t even have been willing to emotionally entertain the idea of preparing a seat for him.

However, something completely unexpected happened.

The moment Dielzner arrived, he let out a cold snort and casually waved his hand—and at the front of the arena, a massive mound of earth surged from the ground like a city wall!

The Demon King’s precise control of magic was nothing short of terrifying.

In an instant, a grand high platform took shape, surrounded by black wing patterns. Even the stone-formed throne was exquisitely crafted. This imposing “temporary high platform” built in the blink of an eye elevated the Demon Queen and the Second Demon Princess, drawing thunderous cheers from the Demon Clan’s area and exuding overwhelming dominance.

This scene was like a declaration to everyone present—The Demon King’s throne was portable. There was no need to be constrained by the humans’ meaningless rules. Their irrelevant hostility held no value.

In fact, the moment the Demon King appeared, the entire venue fell into a terrifying silence.

There was fear, hatred, hostility, and restraint.

The two sides who had just faced each other on the battlefield not long ago were now, in such a setting, suddenly shaking hands to watch a match together. This situation was nothing short of bewildering.

Not until the match was about to resume…

Did the venue gradually recover some of its intended liveliness.

So-called liveliness—was merely a few nobles among the humans voicing their displeasure.

“What is this… isn’t the Demon King’s platform clearly higher than His Majesty the King’s?”

“Such arrogance… don’t they realize where they are? This is the Royal Capital of Aurus. The Demon Clan is already bullying us to this extent, and we’re still holding this match? It’s utterly absurd…”

“Enough, don’t say more. Do you really think this is just a match today? The height of the seats doesn’t matter. What matters is who gains an advantage in this political game. I feel like the storm hasn’t even started yet… sigh, I really wonder if sitting here today was the right decision.”

The Pope, the King, and the Demon King all stood at the same time, raising their hands in mutual greeting.

After that simple, casual, and perfunctory ceremony ended, the leaders of the three nations returned to their thrones.

As rulers, all of them had the patience and composure to sit tight and wait for how things would unfold.

Thus, their act of sitting down became the signal that the match in the arena would resume.

The host was quick to catch on.

He hurried to the center of the field, holding the directive passed down from the King’s side, calling for the match to quickly continue.

【On the occasion of the grand event marking the beginning of friendly exchanges among the three nations, the Kingdom of Aurus extends a warm welcome to His Holiness the Pope and His Majesty the Demon King, who have arrived in a spirit of goodwill. Let all present partake in this shared celebration! We have now completed the preliminary round and are officially entering the semifinals. The next round promises to be an unprecedented spectacle. Will the two semifinalists for the first round please move to their respective entrances and… and take your positions!】

By the end of his announcement, even this dedicated host stumbled slightly in his words.

His level of nervousness was self-evident. All he wanted was to quickly finish reading his script and dash off-stage to calm his anxiety.

Damn it… I’m just a comic-relief host! How did I suddenly end up standing between three nations and announcing national matters?!

A “promotion” with no raise—what kind of absurdity was this?!

Not just him—everyone else at the venue had sweaty palms.

If any of the three national leaders made an aggressive move, they were ready to bolt for their lives.

This place was anything but safe.

Only our Miss Shaya had a completely different mindset from the rest.

—She was positively thriving right now!

Eating donuts, sipping on three cups of chilled concentrated fruit juice she bought on the way back—one each for Xiarette and Sylatrella—her vibe was practically that of someone on vacation.

Xiarette’s eyes drifted toward the Demon King’s elevated platform.

Even from this distance, it still seemed like Princess Belith had been staring in Sheffy’s direction the whole time—like her neck was stuck and couldn’t turn away.

Sheffy noticed it too. Not to be outdone, she smacked her lips and glared right back with wide eyes across the distance.

“Tch… that idiot Belith, what’s she staring at me for? If she blows my cover, she’s going to pay!”

“That’s unlikely.” Xiarette analyzed the direction of the gaze and gave her assessment. “Your sister probably knows there are too many people in this direction. Even if she looks like that, she can’t tell exactly who she’s staring at. But… more importantly, Shaya, did you ask your parents—cough, no, I mean, did you ask the Demon King and the Queen why they suddenly showed up?”

“Mm, I asked. They said they’re here for some family bonding.”

“Fa… family bonding?”

Sheffy rested her chin on one hand, wearing a cool expression.

But with half a donut stuffed in her mouth, puffing out her cheeks on both sides, she didn’t look all that cool.

“Yeah. I’m guessing… they wanted to take this chance to help me make up with Belith. Didn’t Belith come to me on her own several times already? But she kept getting turned away. This time, Father and Mother brought her along, so I guess they’re clearing a path for her.”

“Is that so… So what are you thinking, Sheffy? Why not just go with it and have a proper talk with Belith? Of course, I mean within the scope of ‘family.’ Try not to cross any other lines, okay?”

“If I did cross a line, would you cry, Xia?”

“Of course I… cough... of course not.”

“Pfft… hahaha! Xia, what are you even thinking! Belith is my sister. How could I possibly develop some other kind of relationship with her?”

Shaya burst out laughing, rocking back and forth. Good thing the chair was well-designed—if not, she might’ve flipped right over it.

Wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes, Shaya patted her small chest and made a vow.

“Even if I starve to death, never eat donuts again, and give up fishing, I’d never go beyond family boundaries with Belith! Hahaha… does that even need to be said? Belith? Like she’d dare defile her own big sister?! Even if you gave her ten sets of guts, she wouldn’t dare!”

“Why do I get the feeling your sister is capable of just about anything…”

“That’s just your imagination~ I know her. She might act all fierce on the surface, but when it comes down to the real thing, she’s all soft legs. If she weren’t, she’d have learned to fish with me ages ago.”

“Is that so…”

“It is!”

Seeing Sheffy so full of confidence and completely unbothered…

Xiarette didn’t have anything more to say.

Twisting a golden lock of hair that had fallen in front of her, her fingers fidgeted as a subtle wave of jealousy churned in her heart, urging her to talk Sheffy out of trying to reconcile with the dangerous Belith.

But Xiarette wouldn’t really do that.

Peace within the family was important...

Those cold and biting words from Belith in the past had left Sheffy with a deep, unforgettable pain. Only the one who tied the knot could untie it. The only person who could mend that scar was Belith herself. Now that she was willing to take the initiative to do something for Sheffy, Xiarette certainly wouldn’t stop Sheffy from trying to make up for her childhood regrets.

Sigh... Let’s just hope, as Sheffy said, that Princess Belith wouldn’t actually act on those strange thoughts she had about Sheffy!

As far as Sheffy was concerned, now that their parents had stepped in and made their wishes clear—that she and Belith have a proper talk—then no matter how unwilling she was, she shouldn’t keep messing around.

They could talk.

But as for what kind of result that talk would lead to—or whether it might actually make things worse—Sheffy couldn’t promise anything.

As for the other reason their father and mother had come—the secret hidden by the Holy Theocracy—Sheffy also mentioned it to Xiarette in the simplest terms.

No need to go into detail. With Xia’s slow little brain, she couldn’t offer anything beyond shock anyway.

See? She was already shocked.

“Wha… the Holy Theocracy actually has something like that…?!”

“Shh… It’s not the time yet. Just wait. Whether it should be revealed or not, since the Pope is sitting right there, he’ll have to show some of his hand today.”

Sheffy’s cold lavender eyes swept toward the western high platform where the Pope sat unmoving.

Extending her magical perception, she had been sensing since earlier that there was a faint, indistinct aura behind the Pope. Even through 【Magic Perception】, she could see a subtle golden light swirling behind him like a coiling dragon.

She didn’t sense any danger—

But it was obvious that it wasn’t the Pope’s own magic power. It was definitely related to one of his trump cards.

Retracting her magic sense, she tapped Xia’s forehead to snap her out of her shock.

Only then did Sheffy notice—wait, the Sylatrella who had been drinking fruit juice beside her just moments ago—where did she disappear to?

“Where’s your Holy Sword? Did she go back into the sword? It’s rare for her to be this quiet.”

“Hmm? Sister Sylatrella went to participate in this round of the match. She even tried to get your attention before stepping onto the stage—stood in two different positions, actually. I thought you were ignoring her on purpose. Turns out you really didn’t hear her?”

“Huh? I’m not that heartless! If I’d heard she was going to compete, I’d have given her some friendly encouragement, obviously!”

“Really?”

“Wh… what else would I do?!”

Honestly, Sheffy, the way your eyes just naturally averted says everything already.

As for Sylatrella’s reaction to being ignored just now, well… let’s not tell Sheffy about that.

Because… when she was ignored the first time, Sylatrella looked momentarily disappointed.

But when she was ignored a second time, a blissful blush suddenly spread across her face, and even her breathing grew noticeably heavier—her motivation for the match instantly skyrocketed!

After bowing deeply in thanks to Sheffy, Sylatrella dashed off into the arena’s preparation tunnel with light, eager footsteps.

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